Kelly Scott is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and an Orange County-based personal chef for health food connoisseurs. She is an advocate of the Paleo Diet, which for her means eating real foods the earth creates. You can find more of Chef Kelly’s recipes and cooking techniques at kellyscleankitchen.com, @kellyscleankitchen on Instagram, and @kellyscleankitchen on TikTok.
Prep your salmon by slicing three vertical slices through the skin and slightly into the flesh underneath. Heavily salt and pepper each side, making sure the salt gets into the cuts. Transfer, skin side down, to a paper towel to thoroughly dry. The dryer the skin the crispier it will be and will not stick to the pan.
Prepare a stainless steel pan by heating over medium heat. Once warmed, add avocado oil all over, enough to evenly coat. Heat until it is just barely smoking and lay your fish, skin side down into the pan, and hold it down for 3-5 second so the skin does not retract once it hits the pan. This is the most important part of the searing. The oil MUST be hot and almost smoking, or the skin will stick if it is too cold.
Let the salmon cook skin side down until it is about 70% of the way cooked. You can tell because the flesh will turn colors. With a fish spatula, flip the salmon to the flesh side to finish cooking. If the skin is having difficulty coming off the pan, it may need more time cooking, wait until it naturally releases.
Once it is flipped, lower the heat to low and add the butter, thyme and garlic and let the salmon finish cooking in the aromatics and butter until cooked through, around another 3 minutes, or until an internal meat thermometer reads 125*F for rare, or 135*F for medium. Remove from the pan and serve skin side up to showcase the beautiful crispy skin.
